Beyond Baseline: The 33% Rule That Changes Everything

Welcome to the Beyond Baseline Newsletter

Your weekly dose of high-performance insights, powerful mindset shifts, and real-world strategies to optimise your health, leadership, and resilience. This week, we’re unpacking one of the most powerful personal growth frameworks I teach, sharing the science behind your circle, and offering a window into the unseen work that drives real transformation. 

To implement is to evolve; to learn and not implement is to stagnate. Don't remain on the sidelines of life - actively engage, experiment, and better yourself. If this content elevates you, provides utility, or benefits your life, please reach out and share your stories.

We're investing significant time and effort into this newsletter as a community piece designed to elevate lives.

Let’s dive in.

FLOURISH & FUNDAMENTALS

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP: A LIFE-CHANGING INSIGHT

During last week's entrepreneurial session in Glasgow, a concept resonated deeply with participants: "You are the average of the five people you spend most time with" - mentally, physically, spiritually, psychologically, and financially.

This isn't just personal development philosophy. Research consistently confirms that your immediate social circle profoundly influences virtually every aspect of your life:

Income: Studies show you'll likely earn within £10,000-15,000 of your closest friends' average income

Health: Your body composition (i.e. body fat) typically falls within 5-8% of those you spend most time with

Wellbeing: Emotional states, from optimism to anxiety, are significantly influenced by your regular social contacts

As the saying goes, "You rise to the level of your relationships or sink to the psyche of your circle."

THE LAW OF 33%: A FRAMEWORK FOR GROWTH

Over the years of working with high performers and reflecting on my own journey, I've found tremendous value in a concept called the Law of 33%. This simple yet powerful framework suggests dividing your social time into thirds:

33% - People You Can Elevate

Spend one-third of your social time with those you can help elevate. These aren't people you view as "beneath you," but rather individuals you can genuinely support, mentor, or inspire. This practice keeps you grounded, builds your leadership capacity, and creates opportunities to reinforce your own knowledge through teaching.

33% - People at Your Level

Another third should be spent with peers, like-minded individuals who share similar values, ambitions, and lifestyle practices. These relationships provide stability, mutual support, and a sense of belonging.

33% - People More Advanced Than You

The final third - and this is where most people fall short - should be spent with individuals who are 3-5 rungs ahead of you in various domains. Many avoid these relationships because they challenge our ego or make us uncomfortable. Yet this discomfort is precisely what drives growth.

While the exact percentages aren't rigid, the principle is clear: intentionally structure your social ecosystem to include all three levels. The most significant growth happens when you regularly expose yourself to people operating at higher levels than you currently are.

THIS WEEK'S EXPERIMENT

Take an honest inventory of your relationship ecosystem:

1. List the 10-15 people you spend most time with weekly

2. Categorise each person as someone you elevate, a peer, or someone who elevates you

3. Calculate roughly what percentage of your social time goes to each category

4. Identify one specific way you could increase your exposure to people operating at higher levels than you currently are

Remember: This isn't about abandoning long-term relationships, but rather about intentionally expanding your circle to include growth-catalysing connections.

IMPACT & INSIGHTS 💡

TESTIMONIALS FROM THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SCOTLAND SESSION

FOUNDERS INSIGHTS 🧠

A NOTE FROM ROSS

I'm in what I call "quiet time" right now. Those weeks before a major event, when the real work happens that no one sees.

While in a few weeks everyone will see the finished article, the high fives, the hugs, the energy, the experience, the cool videography, the images, full of buzz and awe at the BetterMan Retreat - what remains invisible is the absolute challenge it's been putting this all together.

The reality? It’s navigating geographical distance, time zones, language barriers, and coordinating 30 people to be in the same place at the same time. Add in 30+ thoughtful touchpoints: from pre-retreat webinars to arrival flow, opening ceremonies, expert sessions, dining setups, and immersive moments. Sprinkle in some brand partnerships to source. Sponsorships. Logistics. Media crews. Health and safety. Support staff. All moving parts, all demanding attention.

People see the outer layer, the exterior, the superficial, but no one sees what's happening beneath the surface, the inner layer, the behind-the-scenes.

Some insights from my morning journaling sessions and preparatory reflections:

“Silently, confidently doing the work day by day and knowing it's all going to pay off. How you do anything is how you do everything. Have your vision, take action, never half-arse it. Do the work. Put your best foot forward consistently. Ask for help, accept the suck. Believe you can. And most importantly, remember it's all a big puzzle. Enjoy it as much as possible. You asked for this. You wanted this. You love this. You've got this."

This is a note to myself, but also to every one of you who demands more of yourself in life. In order to do something you've never done, you're going to have to become someone you've never been. That will be hard and challenging, but it's much better than the alternative - stagnation.

These are the kinds of messages I revisit daily. Little anchors from my meditations, reflections, and journaling. I share them not because I’ve figured it all out but because I know they help me stay grounded, focused, and in the game. Maybe they'll do the same for you.

It’s not always glitz and glam. But do I love it? Every bit of it. Even the chaos. Especially the challenge.

Stay tuned for more updates, insights, and ways to push beyond your baseline every week.

Until next time,
Ross Anderson
Beyond Baseline Founder

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Beyond Baseline: Helping ambitious professionals achieve their goals without sacrificing well-being.